COVID-19 emergency shows limitations of nationwide data sharing infrastructure

Several initiatives are working to gather patient data and map information on the spread of COVID-19, even as public health and federal efforts are bogged down in manual and paper-based processes.

The private initiatives are looking to incorporate ways to demonstrate the spread and extent of the pandemic in various geographic areas, seeking to enable health researchers to better understand how the virus is spreading, who it’s affecting and how to potentially prevent it from affecting more individuals.